Sole-molding machine for boots and shoes



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. D. KN,OX. SOLE MOLDING MACHINE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. No. 347,429.Patented Aug. 17, 1886. Pi

WITNESSES: INVENTEIFU (No Model.) '3 Sheets-Shed 2. 1 D. KNOX.

SOLE MOLDING MACHINE FOR BOOTS AND SHOE S. No. 347,429. Patented Aug.17, 1886.

WITNESSES? I I OINVENTOEIFK;

,6rn0u7 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

' D. KNOX. SOLE MOLDING MAGHINETOR BOOTS AND SHOES. No.-347 ;4Z9. IPatented Aug. 17, 1886.

WITNESSES"- INVENTEIFI UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

ioAvn) KNOX, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SOLE-MOLDING MACHINE FOR BOOTS AND sHoEs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,429, dated August17, 1886.

' Application filed January 9, 1886. Serial No. 188,081. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID KNOX, of Lynn,

' in the county of Essex and State of Massabeing placed on boots orshoes, in which the sole is given the proper form or mold to fit theshape of the last.

It is the object of my invention to provide a machine of the classmentioned which shall have an increased productive capacity, and

at the Same time be absolutely safe for the attendant, and moreeffective and convenient in operation, and, by avoiding the necessity ofusing a rubber cushion under the molds, be more economical than anymachine which is being used for the purpose mentioned now known to me.

To the foregoing ends my invention consists in the machine, and in theconstruction and combination of parts therein, which I will now proceedto describe, and subsequently point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a front View of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is atransverse vertical section thereof on the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isatop plan view. Figs. 4 and 5 represent details of the former,hereinafter referred to.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the frame, of

any suitable form and construction, to support the various parts of themachine.

b is the cross-head provided with the male dies or formers c 0, and d isthe platen provided with the female dies or formers e e.

f is the driving'shaft, provided with the crank-wheels g g, which,through the medium of the connecting-rods h h, operate the togglelevers2' i, suitably supportedand connected to the bed d,which draw thecross-head with its dies or formers down upon the female dies 6 e on theplaten.

Instead ofproviding a machine with a single set or pair of dies orformers, as has been customary in all machines heretofore in use,

;So far as known to me, for molding soles preparatory to being placed onboots or shoes, I

provide each machine with two sets of formers-a right and left-and sooperate the lower or female die of each as that one person may be ableto attend to both sets of formers without liability of accidental injuryto the hands or arms of Such attendant. This is accomplished as follows:I provide the bed j of each female die with flanges adapted to beguidedin suitable ways or tracks, j, on the platen, so that said bed canbe moved forward and back thereon-that is, forward from under male dieand backward directly thereunder, providing for a dwell at eachextremity of its movement, the dwell at its forward movement being toenable the attendant to remove the molded sole from the lower die, andplace another in position thereon to be molded or formed, and the dwellat the rearward movement being to provide time for the press to opcrateon the dies, and to rise so as to allow the lower die to clear whenpassing from under the upper. Rods 7a are secured to the rear ofends ofbeds j, the other ends of said rods being pivoted to the upper ends ofknee-levers It, which latter levers are pivoted at their lower ends, atZ, to the frame of the machine. A shaft, m, is journaled in the sides ofthe frame above main shaft f, and is driven therefromby suitablegearing. Said shaft m is provided at suitable points with cams n,adapted to operate in slots 0 in knee-levers as clearly shown in Fig. 3of the drawings. The form and arrangement of the cams andslots is suchthat when the shaft m is rotated one of the lower beds and its die willbe moved to the extremity of its forward movement, while the other willbe at its extreme rearward position'under the male die undergoing theoperation of being molded, the attendant meanwhile having opportunityand time to remove the molded sole on the forward die and place a newblank in position thereon. In the next rotation of shaft or the.positions of the female dies and their beds are reversed, and the sameoperation takes place as before, but on the opposite dies, and so onalternately, so that the capacity of the machine is not only doubled anda single attendant enabled to manipulate the work for two'sets of dies,but all operations are carried on in front of the pressing or moldingpoint, and out of the way of danger.

It not infrequently happens from the varying thickness of the sole to bemolded, or from other causes, that the pressure of the female die orformer against the male die is uneven; and to provide for this exigency,and to over come the objections consequent upon it, I mount the femaledie somewhat loosely on its bed, making the latter of slightly concaveform on its upper surface, and the female die convex on its lowersurface, as represented in the longitudinal section in Fig. 4 and theend view in Fig. 5. Said female die is provided with lugs or studs n,which project into holes 0', formed in the bed, and which holes arelarger than the base of the studs, by which construction a limitedmovement of said dies independent of their beds as x is permitted, whichmovement allows the dies to accommodate themselves to inequalities, &e.,in the thickness of soles, hereinbefore mentioned, which is an importantadvantage, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

To overcome sudden jars in the operation of the press,which would resultin its injury, as well as injury to the work, and to render the machineself-adjusting to soles of varying thickness, and to avoid the use ofrubber cushions under the molds, as in machines heretofore constructed,which cushions are very expensive and wear or grind out very rapidly, Isurround the rods or standards a,whieh pass through the ends of thecross-head b and support the same by means of adjustable collars athereon, with a strong spiral spring, 1), one end of which rests uponthe upper end of said cross-head, the other end of said spring hearingdirectly against the lower end of an adjusting-nut adapted to be screwedupon the upper screw-threaded end of the rod a,whereby the force withwhich the spring bears upon the eross-head can be properly regulated.The adjustable collar upon which the cross-head rests provides means foraccurately adjusting the position of the latter, and is an importantfeature of my invention, as will be understood by those acquainted withthis class of machines. The rods or standards a are screw-threaded fromtheir extreme upper ends to a point be low the cross-head, by whichconstruction I am enabled to apply and adjust the collars upon which thecross-head rests.

It is essential, as is well known, that crosshead b should, as stated,be yieldingly mounted on its supports,and the meansjustdescribed areeffective and lasting in this respect, entirely avoiding, as stated, theemployment of the expensive rubber cushion under the molds, and at thesame time enable me to adjust the parts with the utmost nicety.

It is obvious that the means for moving the female dies and the beds toand fro on their supports, and for guiding them in their move ments, maybe varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The construction and arrangement of other parts of the machineforinstance, the means for effecting the pressure of the male dies againstthe female dies-may be varied within the scope of the invention.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a machine for molding the soles of boots orshoes preparatory to placing the same on the lasts, the combination ofthe two pairs of molds e c and e e, the horizontallyreciprocating bedsj, and the vertically-reciprocating cross-head 1), arranged and adaptedto operate as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a machine for molding the soles of boots or shoes preparatory toplacing the same on the lasts, the combination, with the frame, of thealternately and horizontally reciproeatory beds j, provided with themolds or dies 0 c, the vertical]y-reciprocating cross-heads I), providedwith the molds e e, rods or levers secured to the rear sides of saidbeds, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating said rodsor levers to alternately move said beds and their dies to and fro underthe molds or dies of the cross-heads, sub stantially as and for thepurpose hereinbcfore set forth.

3. The combination, with the frame, of two sets or pairs of dies, thelower or female dies of said pairs of dies being movable to and fro fromunder the upper or male dies, meehair ism for pressing the upper diesagainst the lower dies, rods attached by one of their ends to the rearsides of said movable dies, slotted levers pivoted at their lower endsto the frame and at their upper ends to the outer ends of said rods, arevolving shaft journaled in the frame and provided with cams adapted to0pcrate in the slots of said levers,whereby when one of said lower diesis underitsupper die the other lower die will be moved therefromunder,as set forth.

4. In a machine for molding the soles of boots or shoes preparatory toplacing the same on the lasts, the combination of the frame a and theplaten d of the alternately and horizontally reciprocating beds j,provided with the molds or dies 0 c, the standards or rods a, cross headI), provided with the molds e 0, adjustable collar, spring 1),mechanism, substantially as described, for adjusting the degreeofpressure of said spring upon said cross-head, and mechanism, as setforth, for vertically reciprocating the cross-head, substantially as andfor the purposes described. I

5. The combination, with the die provided with lugs or projections, ofthe bed for the die, said bed being provided with slots, in which thelugs of the (lie are permitted to move to a limited degree, whereby whensaid die is pressed against its corresponding die to mold a shoe-soletherebetween said first-mentioned die will be permitted to accommodateitself to inequalities in the thickness of the leather, as set forth.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day of January, 1886.

Vitnesses: DAVID KNOX.

A. D. HARRISON, ARTHUR IV. CROSSLEY.

